News

Alaskans and coin collectors from as far away as the Lower 48, were in Healy yesterday for the U.S. Mint’s official launch of a new Denali National Park quarter.

An explosion aboard Shell’s Noble Discoverer drill rig sent fire crews in Unalaska scrambling this morning. Ports Director Peggy McLaughlin says she felt the blast from the harbor office, which is about 200 yards away.

A former fishing associate of disgraced congressional aide Arne Fuglvog will have to pay $100,000 for his own illegal fishing activities. Freddie Joe Hankins was sentenced last week to three-years of probation and will have all of his future fishing activities recorded by an electronic monitoring device. Twenty-five-thousand dollars will be in the form of a fine and $75,000 will be a community service payment. He'll also be required to have a statement acknowledging his wrongdoing published in National Fisherman magazine.

The oil and gas industry, government agencies and scientists are meeting this week in Anchorage to talk about Arctic oil and gas development. A wide range of issues are being discussed – everything from spill response to ice tracking to wildlife changes. It is well known that over the past decade the sea ice has been melting back to record levels. But what is less well known is how to track some of the large – and dangerous – pieces of ice that have been breaking loose.

Senate Republicans are vowing to continue a moratorium on earmarks this coming Congress. It could have repercussions in Alaska; a state that relies heavily on federal funding.

The Unusal Mortality Event that saw seals and other marine mammals showing up with hair loss over a swath of Alaska's northern coast may be over. Experts told a science meeting Wednesday that no cases of the hair loss syndrome have been reported so far this year.

So far there have been no signs of a spill after a tug and barge went aground on Ukolnoi Island in the Aleutians - between Cold Bay and Sand Point. Five crew members from the tug "Polar Wind" were rescued. The owner, Northland Services, has joined a Unified Command team to respond to the grounding. The tug was 20 miles from Cold Bay when it became separated from the barge in 6-8 foot seas and 40 mile per hour winds.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is initiating a major infractions case against the University of Alaska Fairbanks. As KUAC’s Dan Bross reports, the case involves failure to meet athlete eligibility requirements.

While Akutan’s new airport has received considerable attention and scrutiny for being expensive and inaccessible, another large infrastructure project on the island that suffers some of the same problems has mostly flown under the radar.

Five crewmembers from the Polar Wind were rescued after the tug and the barge it was towing went aground. The Northland Services tug was 20 miles from Cold Bay when it became separated from the barge it was dragging behind it. The two vessels went adrift while the crew was trying to reconnect the towline. According to Coast Guard Petty Officer David Mosley, weather was a factor.

After several months of inactivity, Cleveland Volcano erupted on Saturday.

The Parnell administration has sent federal fisheries disaster officials a new estimate of that poor Chinook Salmon returns to Alaska rivers cost fishermen. Only commercial fishing is eligible for fisheries disaster aid, not subsistence or sports fishing. The new estimate is that about $16.8 million in revenue were lost by the industry because of Chinook Salmon closures. The prior estimate was about $10 million.

Two votes. That’s the latest report from Juneau where absentee ballots were counted Tuesday in the race for House District 34. Haines Republican Representative Bill Thomas now holds a two-vote lead over Sitka Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins.

Congress reconvenes today after more than a month away. With less than two months until the end of the year and the close of the session, members clearly feel the heat. Today, the Senate picked up a collection of bills known as the Sportsmen’s Package. If it passes, it could waive the duck stamp fee for subsistence hunters.

The subsistence fishermen trials that were scheduled to start today (Tuesday) in Bethel have been postponed.

Sealaska shareholders will soon get their largest end-of-year dividend in three years. But it’s mostly due to the success of another regional Native corporation.

The Tribal Law and Order Act signed into law last July created an all-volunteer Indian Law and Order Commission charged with creating recommendations on how to make life for Native Americans safer and more just. Two members of the Indian Law and Order Commission recently visited Alaska to gather information. They say all Alaskans would benefit if the state worked more cooperatively with tribes. Governor Sean Parnell says the criticism is unwarranted.

GCI is purchasing three television stations: KTVA in Anchorage, KATH in Juneau, and KSCT in Sitka. The company says it’s the first of potentially more media buys. David Morris is vice president at GCI. He says the deal has been in the works for about a year.

Talkeetna residents are wondering what is going on after two buildings caught ablaze on two separate nights. On Saturday night an aluminum-sided trailer was destroyed on I street. On Sunday night, a second blaze ignited in a house across the street from that site. That brings the number of unexplained fires in Talkeetna to three in the last two weeks. Both properties were unoccupied and no injuries were reported. The Talkeetna Volunteer, Willow and Houston Fire Departments responded.